88. Quicksand (Patreon)

“Hmm, quite a simple abode for Rani’s first companion.” The unknown woman waltzed into Aloe’s room with a confidence that made quite obvious her status. “What is your name, girl?”

Aloe kept her mask up and sturdy, not letting the woman’s openness and intrusiveness bother her. She was in the most hostile and dangerous place in Ydaz, after all.

“That would be Aloe Ayad, lady...” The scribe introduced herself politely, unfazed by being called a girl by a woman who looked barely years older than her.

“Lady? You are going to make me blush.” She laughed heartily. “You may call me Khalida, and as you may have guessed I am Rani’s half-sister and daughter to my mother, the Sultanah Aaliyah-al-Ydaz.”

The number of double meanings in the sultanzade’s words didn’t surprise Aloe at this point. Talking with one always felt like traversing a labyrinth. She presented herself, stated her position, offered a moniker, and asserted her supremacy in a single sentence.

Khalida was different from Rani. Her skin was darker and less lustrous, and her hair was chestnut instead of black, doting dark green eyes that matched perfectly both her hair and skin. Her body shape, though, was as outrageous as Rani's. Her build was more muscular than the scribe's liege but not as quite as Naila’s.

“Understood, princess Khalida.” Aloe bowed formally. Unlike Rani, Khalida didn’t react negatively to the addition of a title to her name. Quite the opposite, she delighted in her superiority. Noted. “May I ask what you require from my person?”

“Not much, really.” Khalida walked with long strides around the room, only letting her toes support her body, and finally sat down on the bed. “I was just interested in what type of person Rani brought with her. She’s one of the most popular sultanzade in the palace, even if her skills are lacking. And by what I see, it seems she inherited our mother’s deviancy toward minors.”

Aloe deadpanned harder than she had ever deadpanned. Her expression was a monument to impassivity, stone itself incarnated.

“I think there is a confusion present,” Aloe stated slowly and diplomatically. “I am an adult.”

“Yeah, sure. You are an adult, righty!” The princess juggled her hands amusedly and winked at her. The scribe remained unblinking for half a minute looking at her. “Dunes. You are an adult.”

“Aloe Ayad, scribe of commoners of the emirate of Sadina, eighteen years old.” Aloe presented herself again, her tone devoid of any emotion.

“Oh well, that does not change anything.” Khalida shrugged, ignoring her. “Rani and Mother are like two grains of sand; it makes sense they have the same small taste in short people. Well, everyone’s shorter than Mother anyways...” The princess kept rambling to herself, and Aloe did the next best thing which was staying still and smiling until she stopped.

“Do you require of my services any further?” Aloe asked with a mask so fake that anyone who had known her for half a day would have noticed it wasn’t her.

“Yup, one question.” Khalida jumped out of the bed, her crotch revealed to Aloe from the jump and her breast almost spilling out of her loose clothes. “Are you a virgin?” Aloe blushed slightly beyond her control. “Yeah, I sensed as much. What is Rani playing...” The sultanzade muttered as she made her way out of the room, not even bothering to close the door.

WHAT IN ALL IS SACRED IS WRONG WITH THE SULTANZADE? Aloe screamed in the confines of her mind, grabbing her head to keep her dwindling sanity from escaping, shouting with her mouth closed. Why do they keep asking if I’m a virgin? Do I look that much like a virgin? Aloe felt as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head as she kept tightening her grab.

It took a solid minute of squishing before Aloe relaxed and even thought about taking a breath.

“Not a good start...” Aloe groaned with a hint of madness and left her room.

The last remnants of the sun still illuminated the sky, but in a few minutes that would be all gone. There were still a few hours before midnight, so Aloe decided to explore the palace.

Not even night could bring down the life in Asina palace. The sheer amount of lighting in the palace made it so it seemed like a cloudy afternoon rather than night, and the people running across the corridors didn’t seem to be dragged down by sleep. Considering the magnitude of nobles and imperials that are living under this roof, I guess they have servants solely dedicated to the night shift.

Aloe walked slowly, maintaining her head up and with confidence. She may be a commoner in a place of nobility and royalty, but getting confused for a servant would be counterproductive, especially when she was wearing clothes this expensive. She was the scribe of commoners of the emirate of Sadina, maybe not a noble but a diplomat, nonetheless. She had rights and immunity to every noble’s whim here, though that didn’t extend to the sultanzade. I need to check the legal code...

Her wandering without a destination brought her outside to a garden. Enormous torches were set up along the stone pathway that broke the blush garden in two. In the middle of it, a gazebo stood imposing. People were conversing inside, their expressions light and their clothes distinctive. She hadn’t seen many sultanzade in her stroll, but she had seen more than most would.

Regardless of the weather and gender, the children of the Sultanah preferred loose and skimp clothing, the more luxurious the better. And only one person of the many in the gazebo fit that description. Aloe stood still a few steps away from the edification and observed the talking people. One maid was standing up serving the others, the nobles surrounding the sultanzade were women, but so was the sultanzade. It didn’t surprise her when the sultanzade caressed a brunette noblewoman’s breast. Not only were sultanzade openly bisexual, but from the expressions and closeness, all these nobles must have been her retinue.

Whether it was for pleasure or business.

“Girls, girls, relax~” The sultanzade whispered relaxingly. “We have company. Who may you be, young one?”

Alright, this is the second time someone has confused me with a minor. They have no children here or something? Aloe focused more on that comment than the fact she had been standing still for so long that a sultanzade caught her.

“Aloe Ayad,” She bowed down almost to ninety degrees, “personal scribe to Emir Rani-al-Sadina.”

Instead of presenting herself as the scribe of commoners, which would have revealed her status as a commoner and the sultanzade didn’t seem to like that, Aloe decided to just state her relationship with Rani. It wasn’t wrong nor omission of truth, she was Rani’s personal scribe after all.

“Oh.” The sultanzade expressed with true amazement. “I was aware of Rani’s coming visit, but not her escort. Has she sent you to keep an eye on me?”

That look... Suspicion, Aloe knew it. She and Rani may not have the best relationship, dunes.

“I am afraid that is not the case, honorable sultanzade.” She could have used the ‘venerable’ honorific, but sultanzade tended to have a warrior’s spirit, so ‘honorable’ was the better bet. “I was just enjoying the beauty of the palace and happened to stumble on this glamorous gazebo. I regret to inform you that I do not know your name.”

Inferiority.

Appealing to superiority and stating inferiority was how she needed to play. It would have been an offense for a local noble to not know a sultanzade, but Aloe was foreign and protected by one herself. She acknowledged that and offered the sultanzade an opportunity to reveal her name.

“Hmm~” The princess hummed deep in thought. It was easy to see that she thought of Aloe as a spy. “Oh well, there is nothing much she can get.” She whispered openly for everyone to hear. “Remember my name for you have met Fatima Asina, of the Northern Wind!” The loosely clothed woman stated proudly with a hand on her chest.

And that was one thing the sultanzade could boast above her sisters. Fatima was without a doubt the most buxom sultanzade Aloe had seen. Other aspects of her body were lackluster compared to the others, though. Only her muscular body – once again not as hardened as Naila's – was highlightable. However, she could still snap Aloe in two with a single hand if she weren't using 'toughness'.

I guess that title must mean something. Aloe remained impassive, though not quite deadpanning as that could be taken as an offense. First time I have seen a sultanzade present themselves with a title. Is she important or does she have an inferiority complex? She may be overthinking, but every word was as valuable as electrum right now.

“But please, do not stand there.” Fatima herself stood up with her words. “Sit down with us, I would like to hear how the rich city of Sadina is faring right now.”

Open hand from a sultanzade, refusing tends to end in hand chopping. The scribe thought coldly recalling laws and rumors but took a step forward. Every tile was quicksand, and she was in a sandstorm. No matter how dangerous the path her actions and words may lead her to, they were nothing compared to the fear she felt at the sheer prospect of meeting the Sultanah of Ydaz. She had already resolved her heart even from before the journey to Asina started.

I’m either going to come out of here covered in gold... or not at all.

Aloe stepped on the gazebo floor.